Door controlling system and apparatus



March 5, 1935. w. F. MOORE DOOR CONTROLLING SYSTEM AND APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 10, 1931 INVENTOR Wallace EMaora TTORNEYJ -March 5, 1935. w E MOORE 1,993,223

DOOR CONTROLLING SYSTEM AND APPARATUS FiledJune 10, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Wallace E Moore ATTORN EY Patented Mar. 5, 1935 UNITED STATES 1,993,223 I noon CONTROLLING SYSTEM AN APPARATUS 7 Wallace F. Moore, New Britain, Conn., assignor to The American Hardware Corporation, New Britain, Conri., a corporation of Connecticut Application June 10, 1931, Serial No. 543,400

7 Claims. (01. 70-50) My invention relates to systems and apparatus for controlling doors and has special reference to such systems and apparatus for closing and locking doors. v

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a novel and improved system and apparatus of this character.

Another object of my invention is to provide means controllable from one-or any desired numher of points for automatically closing and locking one or aplurality of doors.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel and improved electrically controlled looking means-for doors.

Still another object of the invention is vide a novel and improved doorcloser.

The several features of my invention, whereby the above mentioned andother objects. may be attained, will be readily understood from the following descriptionv and accompanying drawings, in which; i I

Figure-1 is a side view, partly in section, of a door check which mayform a part of my improved apparatus; 2

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same;

. Fig. 3 is a detail plan view of a magnetically operated device forming a component part of the to procheck, the cover of the casingof the device beingremoved; 30. Fig. 4 is a sectional view'taken on the line 44 of Fig. 3; U

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the-line 55 of Fig.4; I 7

Fig.6 is a detail perspective view of an armature 35. and associated parts'of said magnetically operated device;

Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view on the line-77 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 8 is a plan view ofa keeper which mayform' a part of my improved apparatus, with the cover of the casing of the keeper removed; Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken on the line 9- of Fig. 8, the keeper being shown in locked or closed position; v

Fig. 10 is a similar view of the keeper shown in open position;

Fig. 11 is a sectional View taken on the line 11-11 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 12 is a detail sectional view takenon the Fig. 151s a wiring diagram of my improved system; and 1 V Fig. 16 is a wiring diagram which may be used wth one or more keepers where no electrically controlled door-checks are employed.

My improved system and apparatus as illustrated in the drawings, is particularly adaptedfor use where it may be desirable-in case of'emergency to quickly close-and lock one or more, or all of the doors of a room orbuilding, from one or more remote points. In the preferred embodiment-of my invention, such closing and locking of the doors may be accomplished by closingan electric circuit by means of one or more push buttons conveniently located in the building ,or

elsewhere. I a

To accomplish the closing of the doors, a doorcheck is employed which is adapted to operate in the usual manner during normalope'ning and closing of the door, and which is provided with means to holdthe door open. Associated with each door-check is a magnetically operated device which upon being energizedv releases the holding means of the check so as to permit'the springactuated door closing arm to close the door.

The locking means, for the door. comprises a keeper and a key-operable latch-bolt. The keeperis pivotally mounted to permit itto be swung into open and closed positions, but normallythe keeper is in. open position, thus allowing free opening and closing of the door. A magnetically operated device is associated with each keeper whereby, upon closing an electric circuit, the keeper. is

moved to closed position, so that. when the door.

is closed, the latch-bolt by engageemnt with the keeper locks the door.

.My improved door-check and closer. as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 ofthedrawings is particularly adapted for use in connection witlrmy, im. proved system. The door-closer is shown applied to a door frame or door-case 2 anda door 4, the 7 door being shown open. The door-closer comprises the usual casing 6 which is secured tothe door-case. A spring-actuated doorclosing arm 8 is connected by a loop 10, a connectingrodlZ, and. a bracket 14 tothe door frame. The spring actuated arm 8 carries a double detent-or pawl 16 for engagement with the teeth of a ratchet wheel 18 connected with the door closing spring in the usual manner.

A ring 20 is adjustably secured to the upper end of the case 6 and carries a plate 22 having a pocket 24. This pocket 24 is adapted'to receive a downwardly spring-pressed detent 26 carriedby the spring actuated arm 8, and when the detent is received in its said pocket and its spring is under tension, it is adapted to hold the door open. This detent comprises a steel ball which is received in the lower end of a vertical aperture 28 in the spring actuated arm 8. The detent ball is pressed downwardly when in said pocket, by means of a plunger 30 mounted in said aperture which in turn is actuated upon by a coiled spring 32 interposed between the upper end of the plunger and a screw-plug 34. The downwardly,

spring-pressed plunger 30 is provided with a flange that engages a shoulder in the aperture 28 to limit the downward movement of the plunger, so that when the ball 26 rides out of its pocket and as it leaves the end of the plate 22, it drops out of engagement with the lower end of the plunger and thus rotates freely during the completion of the closing of the docr.

The door-closer is further provided with means forreleasing the tension of the, detent spring 32 so as to render said spring and its associated detent plunger 30 inoperative to hold the detent ball 26 in said pocket, and thus permit the spring actuated arm 8' to close the door. This means comprises a lever 36 mounted on the top side of the springactuated arm 8. Oneend of this lever is provided with a recess 38 which loosely receives the upper end of a boss 40 on the arm 8, the'aperture' 28 extendingthrough this boss. This recess 88' is provided with an aperture through is screw-threaded the-abutment plunger 34 for the detent spring 32. The lever 36 is detachably fulcrur'ned' on the arm 8 by means of an inwardly directedtongue or lug 42 theredn which is received iii a slot in the side of the boss 40 The outer endof the lever 36 is held down by means hereinafter des'cribed The top side of the door closing arm 8 is provided with a member 44 which has arecess 46 for receiving the outer pcrtion of the lever 36 when the device is innorrrial position. The under side or the lever 36 is provided with a shoulder 48 viii-rich engagesth'e outer face of the member 44-.

A post 50' is'pivotedat its upper end in a recess in the under side of the lever 36. This poster:- tends downwardly through an elongated aperture in thea'rrr'i 8 and its lower end is provided with laterally projecting shoulders, one of which is shown at 52. The-sides of the post 40 are flat-- tened and arranged closely adjacent the side walls of theape'rture through which it extends.

LWith this constructiomupon releasing the outer endof the lever 36, the detent spring 32 acts in rriediately to throw said lever upwardly about the axis of the fulcrum formed by the lug i2. Also,

as the lateral shoulder 52 on the post 50 strikes the under side of the arm 8, the lever is for'ced forwardly a sufficient distance to disengage the fulcmriied lug 42 from the upper wall of the slot in which it is received. Thus, upon the outer end of the lever 36 being released, the spring-actue ated arm 16 is permitted immediately to close the door.

The door closing arm is provided with an open: ing 54 for'rned by means of an enlarged collar por tion 55 on the arm beneath the forwardend por 666 of the lever 36. I

Except as hereinafter described, t e parts of the door cheek above referred to may be and preferably are the same as the corresponding parts of theedoor-check described and claimed in my pending application Serial No. 459,677, filed June 7,1930. k i

In accordance with the present invention, the lever 36 is held down by means of a trigger meniber 56, the end of which engages an upwardly directed shoulder 58 on the outer end of the lever 36, the end portion of the lever extending downwardly through the aperture 54 in the springactuated arm. The trigger 56 is pivoted on a pin 68 (Figs. 3 to 6) having its ends secured in the side walls of a casing 62 that is secured by screws 64 to the collar portion 55 of the door closing arm 8. The trigger 56 is normally held in horizontal position by a tongue 66 on its inner end engaging a shoulder 68 on a dogging member 70 pivoted on a pin '72. The dogging member '70 is adapted to be swung to release the trigger and thereby permit the lever 36 to swing upwardly, by means of a lost motion connecting member 74 .carried by one end of an armature '76 which is With this construction, it will be apparent that.

upon closing the circuit connection with the electro-rnagnets, the lever 36 is immediately released, allowing the door closing arm to close' the door.

As shown, means is provided whereby when the lever 36 is released, circuit connection with the electro-magnets is broken, and there is provision whereby the connection cannot be accidentally re-establi'shed. To provide for this, the lead wire from one of the magnets is grounded on the spring-actuated arm 36. The other lead wire from the magnet is attached to the bindingepc'st' 81 which in turn is connected to one side of a power supply, The other binding-150st 83 is con nected to a spring 82 which is secured td a: block of insulating material 84 so as to be insulated from the spring-actuated arm. This contact spring 82 has a tongue extension which eirte'n'd's' between upstanding lugs 86 formed on the block 84. These lugs receive between them the forward portion of the lever 36', so that when the lever is held down the underside of the arm; i's iri electrical contact with the contact spring 82'. When, however, the lever is released, it is disengaged from the contact spring so as to cpen the circuit.

In order to insure against the circuit being accidentally closed by the lever 36 dropping, a flat spring 88 is secured to the side of the lever 36, the lower end of which abuts against the end of one of the lugs 86 on the block 84 so as to prevent the lever 36 from falling back into con tact with the contact spring 82'. Thus, after the device is operated, the electrical connection tween the lever 36 and the contact spring 82 is broken, and it is necessary to reset the device before it can again be operated through the clos' ing of the circuit connection magnets. in

'The keeper which is indicated at 90 (Figs. 8 to' 11) is mounted in a suitably formed casing 92 that is secured in the door case 2 (Fig. 13). This keeper is pivotally mounted on a pin 94, and is pressed toward holding or closed position as shown in Figs. 8 and 9, by meansof a spring with the electro- 96 coiled about the pin 94. Normally, however,

the keeper is held in effective or open position (Fig. 10) by the engagement of a latching lug 98 with a shoulder 100 on the rear side of the keeper. This lug 98 is anextension of a member that connects a dogging member 102 with an armature 104, the armature and doggingmember being pivotally mounted on the same pin 106. The armature is adapted to be swung back by means of two electro-magnets 108, and is pressed in a direction away from the'magnets by means of a spring. 110.

With this construction, when the magnets are energized, the lug 98 is drawn out-of engagement with the shoulder on'the keeper, allowing the spring 96 of the keeper to "swing it into closed position. As the keeper reaches closed position, a pin'112 on the keeper engages a projection 114 on a trip lever 116 pivoted on a side of the casing, and swings the rear end of the trip lever upwardly so that when the electro-magnets are deenergized and the armature and dogging member 102 swing away from the electro-magnets, a shoulder 118 on the member 102 is positioned beneath the rear end of the trip lever. The trip lever 116 by engagement with said shoulder 118 and the pin 112 securely holds the keeper in eifective or closed position. In order to release the keeper and return it to open position, an aperture 120 is provided'therein through which a wire or other instrument may be inserted to retract the armature and the dogging member 118 from holding engagement with the trip lever 116, thus allowing the keeper to be swung back and held by the lug 98 in open position.

In addition to the switching device in the doorcheck as above described for breaking the circuit when the system has operated to close and lock the doors, there may be provided an additional switching device associated with the keeper. This latter switching device is used where the keeper is employed without an electrically controlled door-check. To provide for this the lead wire from one of the magnets is grounded to the keeper casing 92. The other lead wire from the magnet is attached to binding post 124 which in turn is connected to one side of the power supply. The other binding-post 126 is connected to a spring 128 (Fig. 11) said spring being insulated from the case. When the keeper is locked in open position, a contact is made between the keeper and spring 128. 'When the keeper is swung into closed position it disengages from the spring 128, thus disconnecting the magnets from the power supply.

In Figs. 13 and 14, I have shown my improved electrically operated keeper in association with the bolt 132 of a conventional pin tumbler lock 134. Also, mounted in the door is the lock 136 equipped with knobs 138, the usual strike or keeper-plate 140 being mounted in the door case.

It will be apparent that when the electrically operated keeper 90 is locked in open or ineffective position, the door may be opened and closed by the knobs and key of the conventional lock 136. As soon, however, as the keeper is moved to closed position upon closing the circuit, it coacts with the latch-bolt of the special lock 134, and as this look is not equipped with knobs, the door can be opened only by use of a key.

Upon closing the circuit by means of any one of the push buttons 144, the electro-magnets 80 associated with the door-checks act to release the holding devices of the checks so as to allow their spring-actuated arms 8 to immediately close the several doors. Simultaneously with this operation, the electro-magnets 108 cause the keeper to be swung into closed position, so that as the doors are closedthe latch-bolts 132 latch into position behind the keepers. As the holding levers 36 of the door-checks are released, the switching devices comprising said levers and the springs 82 immediately open the circuit.

In'Fig. 15 the system is shown without the use of the electrically operated door-checks. In such case, switching devices comprising the springs 128 are associated withthe keepers so that when the keepers are moved into closed positions, the circuit is opened. As will be evident to those skilled in the art. my invention permits various modifications without departingfrom the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. The combination of a door, a door case, a latch-bolt mounted in one of said members, a keeper for the latch-bolt mounted in the other member and adapted to be moved into opened and closed positions, a latching device acting automatically to latch and retain the keeper in opened position when the keeper is moved'into said position, means for moving the keeper into closed position upon releasing said latching device, and controllable electrically operated means for releasing said retaining means and for holding said keeper in closed position.

2. The combination of a door, a door case, a latch-bolt mounted in one of said members, a keeper for the latch-bolt pivotally mounted in the other member so as to permit it to be swung into opened and closed positions, a spring tending to swing the keeper into closed position, a latching device for normally retaining the keeper in open position against the tension of said spring, and controllable electrically operated means for releasing said retaining device for the keeper to permit the keeper to be moved by its spring into closed position, and for holding the keeper in closed position said latching device acting automatically to latch and retain the keeper in opened position when the keeper is moved into said position.

3. The combination of a door, a door case, a latch-bolt mounted in one of said members, a keeper for the latch-bolt mounted in the other member and adapted to be moved into opened and closed positions, a device for retaining the keeper open, means for moving the keeper into closed position upon releasing said retaining device, and controllable means comprising an electric circuit acting upon closing the circuit to release said holding means, and comprising means acting automatically to open the circuit upon the keeper being moved into closed position.

4. The combination of a door, a door case, a latch-bolt mounted in one of said members, a keeper for the latch-bolt mounted in the other member and adapted to be moved into opened and closed positions, a device for retaining the keeper in open position, means for moving the keeper into closed position upon releasing said retaining device, and controllable means comprising an electric circuit acting upon closing the circuit to release said holding means, and a switching device acting automatically to open the circuit upon the keeper being moved into closed position.

5. In a door closer, the combination of a springactuated door closing arm, a stop member, a detent carried by said arm and adapted to engage said stop member when the door is open, a spring for maintaining said detent in holding engagewhen said spring is under tension, a lever having one end 'fiilcrumed on said arm adapted to be toward and from said arm, and provided with an abutment for holding saidspring under tension when the lever is held in one position, a latching device for holding the lever in said position, and an electro-magnetically operated means acting when energized to release said latching device from said lever. 4

6. The combination of a door, a door closer comprising a spring tending to close the door, and a holdingdevice for holding'the door open against the tension of said spring, a locking device for the door normally in unlocked condi tion, and controllable means comprising an e1ec'-' triccircuit'actingwhen the circuit is closed to release said holding means and to lock' said locking device, and means acting automatically upon release of said holding means to open the circuit.

'7. In a door closenthe combination-0f a spring actuated door closing arm, a stop member, a detent carried'by said arm and adapted to engage said stop member when the door is open, a spring for maintaining said detent in holding engagement with said stop member to hold the door open when said spring'is under tension, a device for holding said spring under tension, and anelectro-magneticallyoperated means acting when'energized to release said holding device.

WALLACE F. MOORE. 15 

